After an enforced hiatus of almost five months, the UEFA Champions League and Europa League resume this week in order to clear up the last remaining business in a troubled season.

Both competitions were frozen in March as the coronavirus pandemic took hold across the continent, and while European football's governing body acted swiftly to move Euro 2020 back a year, for a long time it was unclear how it would manage to complete its two landmark club competitions.

In the end the solution was to set up two mini tournaments bringing all teams together in one place from the quarter-finals onwards, with all ties being decided in one-off matches behind closed doors.

And so the Champions League will move to Lisbon for the 'Final Eight' starting on August 12 and ending with the final at Benfica's Estadio da Luz on August 23.

The Europa League, meanwhile, will be played to a conclusion at a series of venues in western Germany, with the last eight beginning on August 10 and the final in Cologne on August 21.

"I believed it from the first moment," said the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin recently when asked if he ever doubted it would be possible to play the tournaments to a conclusion.

"You should always be optimistic, and if something like this crisis happens, you must have a plan ready.

"At the present time, we will be playing matches without spectators until further notice. We will not take any risks."

<h2>- UEFA not worried -</h2>

There is, though, no question of further changes being made to the formats despite concerns about an increase in Covid-19 cases in and around Lisbon, and more recent worries in Germany about a rise in cases there.

UEFA also recently insisted it was "confident" there would be no more delays despite cases of coronavirus emerging among players at Real Madrid and Sevilla.

It is, in any case, now or never.

Indeed, the preliminary round of next season's Champions League begins next Saturday, the same day Bayern Munich entertain Chelsea and Napoli visit Barcelona in their outstanding last 16 second legs.

Before that, Manchester City defend a 2-1 first-leg lead at home against Real on Friday as Pep Guardiola's side target Champions League glory on the back of the club's success at getting a two-year ban from the competition overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The winner of that tie will face Juventus or Lyon in the quarter-finals in Lisbon.

<h2>- Wolves' longest year -</h2>

It is the Europa League which is first up, though, with the last 16 being completed on Wednesday and Thursday.

Two ties -- Inter Milan against Getafe and Sevilla against Roma -- will go ahead as one-off ties in Germany as the first legs were never played.

Six second legs will also be played with the winners heading to Germany for the last eight.

Among the ties to be completed is Manchester United's against Austrian side LASK, which will be a formality for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team after they won 5-0 in the first leg in March.

Their form since the Premier League resumed in mid-June has been excellent and they have already sealed a place in the 2020-21 Champions League, but now they want to finish this never-ending season with a trophy.

"Now our focus is on the Europa League because this is a really good trophy and we want to win," Bruno Fernandes told MUTV.

"I came to Manchester to win trophies. We need to play every game to win. If we go into the Europa League and win every game, we know we'll win the trophy."

United, Europa League winners in 2017, could yet find themselves facing Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in the semi-finals in Cologne on August 16 should both teams get there.

Wolves entertain Greek champions Olympiakos on Thursday having drawn 1-1 in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Their campaign started more than a year ago now, with a 2-0 win over Northern Irish side Crusaders in the second qualifying round on July 25, 2019.

Extending it by another couple of weeks would do them no harm.

After an enforced hiatus of almost five months, the UEFA Champions League and Europa League resume this week in order to clear up the last remaining business in a troubled season.

After an enforced hiatus of almost five months, the UEFA Champions League and Europa League resume this week in order to clear up the last remaining business in a troubled season. Both competitions were frozen in March as the coronavirus pandemic took hold across the continent, and while European football's governing body acted swiftly to move Euro 2020 back a year, for a long time it was unclear how it would manage to complete its two landmark club competitions. In the end the solution was to set up two mini tournaments bringing all teams together in one place from the quarter-finals onwards, with all ties being decided in one-off matches behind closed doors. And so the Champions League will move to Lisbon for the 'Final Eight' starting on August 12 and ending with the final at Benfica's Estadio da Luz on August 23. The Europa League, meanwhile, will be played to a conclusion at a series of venues in western Germany, with the last eight beginning on August 10 and the final in Cologne on August 21. "I believed it from the first moment," said the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin recently when asked if he ever doubted it would be possible to play the tournaments to a conclusion. "You should always be optimistic, and if something like this crisis happens, you must have a plan ready. "At the present time, we will be playing matches without spectators until further notice. We will not take any risks." - UEFA not worried - There is, though, no question of further changes being made to the formats despite concerns about an increase in Covid-19 cases in and around Lisbon, and more recent worries in Germany about a rise in cases there. UEFA also recently insisted it was "confident" there would be no more delays despite cases of coronavirus emerging among players at Real Madrid and Sevilla. It is, in any case, now or never. Indeed, the preliminary round of next season's Champions League begins next Saturday, the same day Bayern Munich entertain Chelsea and Napoli visit Barcelona in their outstanding last 16 second legs. Before that, Manchester City defend a 2-1 first-leg lead at home against Real on Friday as Pep Guardiola's side target Champions League glory on the back of the club's success at getting a two-year ban from the competition overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The winner of that tie will face Juventus or Lyon in the quarter-finals in Lisbon. - Wolves' longest year - It is the Europa League which is first up, though, with the last 16 being completed on Wednesday and Thursday. Two ties -- Inter Milan against Getafe and Sevilla against Roma -- will go ahead as one-off ties in Germany as the first legs were never played. Six second legs will also be played with the winners heading to Germany for the last eight. Among the ties to be completed is Manchester United's against Austrian side LASK, which will be a formality for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team after they won 5-0 in the first leg in March. Their form since the Premier League resumed in mid-June has been excellent and they have already sealed a place in the 2020-21 Champions League, but now they want to finish this never-ending season with a trophy. "Now our focus is on the Europa League because this is a really good trophy and we want to win," Bruno Fernandes told MUTV. "I came to Manchester to win trophies. We need to play every game to win. If we go into the Europa League and win every game, we know we'll win the trophy." United, Europa League winners in 2017, could yet find themselves facing Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in the semi-finals in Cologne on August 16 should both teams get there. Wolves entertain Greek champions Olympiakos on Thursday having drawn 1-1 in the first leg of their last-16 tie. Their campaign started more than a year ago now, with a 2-0 win over Northern Irish side Crusaders in the second qualifying round on July 25, 2019. Extending it by another couple of weeks would do them no harm.

Champions League ready to resume, at long last

As football around Europe returns after a long suspension, UEFA is set to announce the format for the latter stages of the Champions League at a key meeting on Wednesday which will also raise the thorny issue of the postponed, pan-continental Euro 2020.

The Champions League was frozen in mid-March before the last-16 stage had been completed, as the sport ground to a halt when the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold.

Initially, European football's governing body had hoped to finish its flagship competition -- along with the Europa League and women's Champions League -- by the end of June.

It soon became clear that such an outcome was overly optimistic, and during the peak of the pandemic in Europe any prospect of finishing the season at all looked slim.

Nevertheless, UEFA has for some time been working on a way of completing its season in August, which looks feasible as leagues restart and the European death toll from Covid-19 slows.

With that in mind, the Executive Committee meeting, to be held by videoconference, is set to approve the idea of a "Final Eight" in Lisbon, as widely reported by media across Europe in recent days.

That would mean finding a way to play out the four remaining last 16, second legs before bringing together all the &nbsp;quarter-finalists in Portugal's capital for a series of one-off games to crown the European champions. According to reports, the final would be on August 23.

In the current context, grouping all teams together in one place and reducing travel is the wisest solution, although it remains to be seen how many fans, if any, could attend.

Football in most countries is being played behind closed doors, yet UEFA's meeting comes in the same week many EU member states -- Portugal among them -- opened up once again to foreign visitors.

The final was scheduled to be played in Istanbul on May 30 and only last week Turkey's Sports Minister, Mehmet Kasapoglu, expressed confidence that the city would not lose out.

"I have no doubt it will take place in the best way in Turkey. We're confident that we will receive good news on June 17," he said.

However, last month the New York Times reported that Istanbul could instead be awarded a future final, when it is safe for fans to travel in large numbers.

<h2>- Fewer hosts for Euro 2020? -</h2>

Gdansk in Poland was slated to host the Europa League final but that competition also looks set to finish in a watered down "Final Eight" format.

German newspaper Bild reported last week that the closing stages would be switched to the region around the western city of Cologne.

A similar format could be brought in for the women's Champions League, the final of which was due to be played in Vienna.

UEFA's announcements will have a knock-on effect on when next season can start around Europe. Everything could be derailed by a second wave of coronavirus infections.

Euro 2020 was meant to be in full swing by now, but postponing the tournament by 12 months was one of the first big decisions taken as the crisis intensified.

Staging the European Championship in 12 different countries, from as far apart as Baku and Saint Petersburg to Dublin and Bilbao, already looked questionable before the virus struck.

Now UEFA must potentially make some big decisions about its format, and president Aleksander Ceferin recently hinted that the number of host cities could be reduced.

In an interview with beIN Sports, he admitted to having "some issues" with three unnamed cities. "In principle, we will do it in 12 cities. But if not, we are ready to do it in 10, nine or eight," he said.

That could leave some hosts -- just like Istanbul -- less than happy, making this week's meeting a potentially delicate diplomatic operation for UEFA to go along with all the logistical challenges.

As football around Europe returns after a long suspension, UEFA is set to announce the format for the latter stages of the Champions League at a key meeting on Wednesday which will also raise the thorny issue of the postponed, pan-continental Euro 2020.

As football around Europe returns after a long suspension, UEFA is set to announce the format for the latter stages of the Champions League at a key meeting on Wednesday which will also raise the thorny issue of the postponed, pan-continental Euro 2020. The Champions League was frozen in mid-March before the last-16 stage had been completed, as the sport ground to a halt when the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold. Initially, European football's governing body had hoped to finish its flagship competition -- along with the Europa League and women's Champions League -- by the end of June. It soon became clear that such an outcome was overly optimistic, and during the peak of the pandemic in Europe any prospect of finishing the season at all looked slim. Nevertheless, UEFA has for some time been working on a way of completing its season in August, which looks feasible as leagues restart and the European death toll from Covid-19 slows. With that in mind, the Executive Committee meeting, to be held by videoconference, is set to approve the idea of a "Final Eight" in Lisbon, as widely reported by media across Europe in recent days. That would mean finding a way to play out the four remaining last 16, second legs before bringing together all the quarter-finalists in Portugal's capital for a series of one-off games to crown the European champions. According to reports, the final would be on August 23. In the current context, grouping all teams together in one place and reducing travel is the wisest solution, although it remains to be seen how many fans, if any, could attend. Football in most countries is being played behind closed doors, yet UEFA's meeting comes in the same week many EU member states -- Portugal among them -- opened up once again to foreign visitors. The final was scheduled to be played in Istanbul on May 30 and only last week Turkey's Sports Minister, Mehmet Kasapoglu, expressed confidence that the city would not lose out. "I have no doubt it will take place in the best way in Turkey. We're confident that we will receive good news on June 17," he said. However, last month the New York Times reported that Istanbul could instead be awarded a future final, when it is safe for fans to travel in large numbers. - Fewer hosts for Euro 2020? - Gdansk in Poland was slated to host the Europa League final but that competition also looks set to finish in a watered down "Final Eight" format. German newspaper Bild reported last week that the closing stages would be switched to the region around the western city of Cologne. A similar format could be brought in for the women's Champions League, the final of which was due to be played in Vienna. UEFA's announcements will have a knock-on effect on when next season can start around Europe. Everything could be derailed by a second wave of coronavirus infections. Euro 2020 was meant to be in full swing by now, but postponing the tournament by 12 months was one of the first big decisions taken as the crisis intensified. Staging the European Championship in 12 different countries, from as far apart as Baku and Saint Petersburg to Dublin and Bilbao, already looked questionable before the virus struck. Now UEFA must potentially make some big decisions about its format, and president Aleksander Ceferin recently hinted that the number of host cities could be reduced. In an interview with beIN Sports, he admitted to having "some issues" with three unnamed cities. "In principle, we will do it in 12 cities. But if not, we are ready to do it in 10, nine or eight," he said. That could leave some hosts -- just like Istanbul -- less than happy, making this week's meeting a potentially delicate diplomatic operation for UEFA to go along with all the logistical challenges.

Key UEFA meeting to decide on way forward for suspended Champions League

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Champions League ready to resume, at long last

Key UEFA meeting to decide on way forward for suspended Champions League